Couture: I was in Control for Most of the Fight

Kim Couture(Pictures) spoke with Sherdog.com at length
on Wednesday, moments before she had surgery on her broken jaw.
Couture was injured in her professional debut, a unanimous decision
loss to Kim Rose(Pictures) on June 20 at the Thomas &
Mack Center.

Irked by Internet speculation and what she feels was unfair media
coverage [including a report from Sherdog.com], Couture set the
record straight on how her jaw was broken, how she feels she fared
in the bout and her hopes for a rematch.

Sherdog.com: There were reports circulating
around the arena on Friday that you suffered not only a broken jaw
but also a broken nose and fractured orbital bone. How much of
those reports are accurate?
Kim Couture: There's no broken nose or orbital bone but my jaw is
broken in two places. There's nothing wrong with my eyes at all and
there's nothing wrong with my nose. The blood was just coming from
my mouth.

Sherdog.com: Where is your jaw
broken?
Couture: It's broken completely in half right down the middle of my
chin and then back under my right ear.

Sherdog.com: Are you going to have your jaw
wired shut?
Couture: No, I'm not. I'm going in -- a got a second opinion -- and
I'm going to get titanium plate screws in [the jaw].

Sherdog.com: Do you know how long the
procedure will take and how long will the recovery process
be?
Couture: The surgery will take about a couple hours and [my doctor]
said I'll be able to eat a steak dinner tonight if I want. I can't
spar or wrestle for about six weeks, but I can certainly do
strength and conditioning right away. He said I'll be out and about
and looking normal tonight.

Sherdog.com: That's good news. Usually broken
jaws require wiring and you can't eat anything solid for
weeks.
Couture: No, he said that's old news, that's the old way. [Laughs]
I'm glad I got a second opinion.

Sherdog.com: Obviously your fight with Kim
[Rose] didn't go the way you wanted. Ultimately, what went wrong in
the fight?
Couture: Well, I just walked out there to touch gloves and she just
hit me. She wasn't interested in touching gloves and that first
shot is what broke my jaw. My left hand wasn't even up to protect
myself -- it was straight out to touch her glove. She took her
shot, connected it and dropped me. That first shot is what broke
it.

Sherdog.com: Without the benefit of replays,
it was hard to discern what happened. Are you saying it was a cheap
shot?
Couture: I don't think she did it on purpose or as a cheap shot,
but maybe it was her nerves or her coaches saying that she had to
get that first shot off. Or maybe she just completely forgot to
touch gloves?

Sherdog.com: At any point in the fight with
that broken jaw, did you think about tapping out?
Couture: No, not at all.

Sherdog.com: Was the broken jaw excruciating
pain or was it not an issue?
Couture: Oh, it was excruciating. Every time I took her down, the
initial takedown hurt and when I had her down and she was holding
onto me, every time she would squeeze my head, I could feel my jaw
split into three pieces and overlap itself. Even when I would
posture up to try and throw down some shots, if she would pop me it
was excruciating. I'm not a quitter and I knew she had no ground
game. I knew I could beat her on the ground with a submission. I
had an arm choke but you kinda need your chin and your neck to
secure that choke, so I couldn't really put any pressure into it to
squeeze it.

Sherdog.com: You scored some solid takedowns
and kept Rose grounded well. However, she did outbox you and that's
usually what weighs heavily on these judges' minds. Did you agree
with the 30-27 scorecard from all three judges?
Couture: No, but I understood where they were coming from. I think
they were initially shocked with all the blood. Honestly, when we
stood back up I felt like I was standing on a boat. Everything was
rocking and my equilibrium was pretty far off. I couldn't have
boxed if there was a heavy bag standing in front of me. I couldn't
really focus in on what was coming at me. All I wanted to do was
get my hands on her and go to the clinch.

Sherdog.com: There have been comments made
publicly that the fight should have been stopped. Would you have
been alright if the referee had stopped the fight at any
point?
Couture: No. I'm glad that he didn't stop it. Luckily he wasn't a
wimp like some of the other people would have been. He wasn't
grossed out at all and he made a good call. I was fine, I was
defending myself, but my equilibrium was off and I couldn't box at
all. I knew that and I had plenty of other tools in my tool belt
that I could have used other than standing there and trying to box
when I couldn't even see straight.

Sherdog.com: By the tone of your voice, you
will be fighting again, correct? You aren't going to
retire?
Couture: Yeah, I'll be back. I'll ask for a rematch because I know
that I can beat this girl and I'm looking forward to that. I think
under different circumstances next time, like fighting without a
broken jaw, we'll have a great fight. I still think it was a good
fight and we put on a good show. Besides the people being grossed
out by the blood, people were happy with it.

Sherdog.com: Local radio hosts Dave Cokin and
Steve Cofield are big boxing and MMA guys, but they were appalled
by the fight. They couldn't believe it wasn't stopped, and were
blown away that Randy [Couture] didn't throw in the towel. They
basically said you didn't belong in the ring. They took about 20
callers and not one person disagreed with them. What are your
thoughts on the views of Cokin and Cofield, as well as everybody
who called in to their show?
Couture: Those guys are really cool and I was on their show live
(before the fight) and they are great guys. I think the issue is
that guys have a problem with seeing girls get bloodied. My husband
is not going to throw in the towel and I would have killed him if
he would have. But people who are in this sport and do it for
themselves know it's a completely different mindset. I don't have a
problem with it and I don't mind getting a little blood on me. It
doesn't effect anybody else so what do they care? It shouldn't get
people so fired up when it doesn't bother me at all. I didn't want
them to stop the fight and I wasn't asking for help and my husband
wasn't even considering throwing in the towel because he knows how
I am.

I didn't feel it went like how your story said. I didn't think I
was getting beat for three rounds the entire fight. I felt like I
was in control for most of the fight. I took her down at will and
granted, the standing at the beginning of the rounds -- like I said
my equilibrium was off -- but there have been boxers who have had
their equilibriums off in the fourth or fifth rounds but went on to
finish twelve full rounds. It's pretty common and you have to do
this sport to understand it, but people shouldn't be so emotional
if I don't have a problem with it.

I went back and watched the tape and I feel very confident in my
performance considering what was going on with me at the time. I
look at it with a different perspective, I don't know. I think
everybody needs to take my word for it. [Laughs] I'm fine now. I've
had broken bones in the past and blood doesn't freak me out at all.
I just let bygones be bygones. I don't certainly tell them what
they should have on their show or what you should be writing about.
I was fine with my performance. Obviously I wanted to win, but
that'll happen soon.

Sherdog.com: This is just speculation, but in
the third round while you two were on your feet, [Rose] landed some
good punches that appeared to rock you. Randy was crouched near the
ring apron with the white towel in his right hand. Did he have the
notion to throw the towel?
Couture: I couldn't hear my corner at all. I know he said he had it
ready just in case, but he knew that I could handle it. I'm not
stupid. If I felt like I was in a situation where -- If you go back
and watch the second and third rounds, there was never a time where
I was in danger. I was taking her down, I was holding her down and
I was working towards a submission. My submissions weren't working
because I didn't have any neck or jaw strength. At the very end of
the third round, I finally cleared my legs to where they needed to
be. I had the arm choke and if I would have had five more seconds I
would have finished her. In between rounds they asked if I was okay
and I said I was fine. They asked if I wanted to continue and I was
fine and I said I was going to beat this girl.

Sherdog.com: If your corner asks if you want
to continue, that's usually a sign that things aren't going so
well.
Couture: They just wanted to know how bad my injuries were. I
wasn't telling them that I was in any pain. All I remember saying
is, "I think I lost a tooth," but they were like, "No, your teeth
are all there."

Sherdog.com: What did Randy and the rest of
your corner say to you after the fight?
Couture: They were just proud of me. They were like, "I can't
believe you went all three rounds!" They were three five-minute
rounds and I wanted to do five-minute rounds. I was very proud of
myself, too, but I obviously would have liked to have gotten the
win.

Sherdog.com: A couple of times you've stated
that you controlled the second and third rounds. Do you think you
won the fight and that you got robbed?
Couture: No, I don't think that I won the fight but I think the
scoring could have been a little better. But I definitely don't
think that I won. I knew late that there was something I needed to
do to where the fight wouldn't be in the judges' hands to win that
fight because I just know that judges get grossed out by blood. I'm
sure it was hard for them to sit there and watch. But they don't
see me in practice! I've gotten my nose bloodied and broken in
practice. To me, it's no big deal but for everybody else, they're
just not used to it.

Sherdog.com: When you return to fighting, do
you want to fight Kim Rose right away or would you prefer to fight
a few other women first?
Couture: It doesn't matter because I'll fight whoever but I'd like
to get that one out of the way so I can feel better about it. She's
a great fighter and even though I said she cracked me when I was
trying to touch gloves, I don't think she's a dirty fighter or
tried to sucker punch me. I think it might have been her nerves
because it was also her pro debut and I don't want my words to be
misconstrued as [if] I'm disrespecting her or saying it was a cheap
shot. I just wasn't expecting it. I know I can beat her and if she
accepts a rematch, I'd love to fight her again and get it out of
the way. I'm just playing it by ear and hoping for October,
November, somewhere around there

Sherdog.com: Kim, we appreciate you taking the
time to interview with us again.
Couture: Thanks. I just want you to go back and re-watch the fight
on tape. I promise you that you'll feel differently about the
fight.

Sherdog.com: I promise you that I'll go back
and watch it again.
Couture: Thank you.